The Legends of Quad Hockey: De La Salle’s Lunchtime Legacy

It’s not every day that three legends of De La Salle Intramurals end up in the same room. But on this day, Terry Eidson, Leo Lopoz ‘94, and Nick Pelosi ‘91 gathered together, each a giant in the school’s storied intramural history. With decades of memories between them, they swapped stories, laughed about old rivalries, and relived the moments that made De La Salle’s intramural scene so unforgettable. Their gathering was a reminder that the spirit of competition and camaraderie at De La Salle has deep roots.

If you’ve ever wandered across the De La Salle quad at lunchtime, you might have wondered: Is this a sports arena, a block party, or a reality show? The answer is yes, all of the above. Welcome to the world of intramurals, and especially to the legendary game of quad hockey, where the competition is fierce, the team names are hilarious, and the school spirit is off the charts. 

And here’s the best part: quad hockey is still going strong. New legends are being made every day.  Today’s sharpshooters and hustlers are writing their own stories on the same stretch of concrete where it all began.

Let’s rewind to the 1980s. Hair was big, shorts were short, and Frank Tamony was running the show. When Mr. Tamony became Dean, the intramural program took a brief “vacation.” Enter Terry Eidson (directed by Bob Ladouceur, then the PE Department Chair) who was encouraged to bring the fun back. With a puck that wouldn’t break windows, a waiver for the brave, and a dream to make quad hockey legendary, Eidson redefined lunchtime at De La Salle.

And legendary it became. The rules were simple: no checking, no broken bones, and ideally, no lost fingers. (A few bruised shins were just part of the charm.) The quad turned into a battleground for glory, where the puck flew fast and the trash talk flew faster.

Then there were the teams, each with names as creative as their game plans: P. Hill Bullies, El Polo Loco, Profane Wampus, and the infamous Ha Ha All Stars, who, rumor had it, practiced before school and hauled the goals on their car roofs like a scene out of a sports movie. If your team name didn’t make people laugh or scratch their heads, were you even playing?

And who could forget the players? Dan Vinson ’04, known as the Wayne Gretzky of the Quad, had a slapshot that “must have gone 100 miles an hour,” recalls Eidson. “That thing was wicked.” His Intramural Player of the Year trophy still sits proudly on a shelf in his parents’ home, a lasting symbol of Vinson family pride.

When talk turned to who else might grace the Mount Rushmore of Quad Hockey, the legends traded names and stories like old teammates in a locker room. Marcus Chin ’07, Chris Mack ’94, and Brian George ’07 were all in the running, but, fittingly, no consensus was ever reached.

The games themselves? Pure chaos, but in the best way. There were epic shootouts, rings of fire (okay, maybe just a really excited crowd huddled around the end of lunch period shootouts), and even a national anthem performance by Briana Oakley CHS’12, who later made it to the semi-finals of American Idol. Yes, you read that right: Quad hockey at De La Salle is where future stars are born. Only at De La Salle could a lunchtime Quad Hockey game feel like prime-time entertainment.

And then came the faculty games, teachers versus students in true Quad Hockey fashion. The laughter was loud, the competition fierce, and the memories unforgettable.

But Quad Hockey is just one chapter of De La Salle’s intramural story. Over the years, students have battled it out in everything from a 24-hour three-on-three basketball tournament, to dodgeball and handball leagues and the annual freshman flag football league, which culminates with a “Super Bowl,” and has become one of the Freshman class events of the year.

Today, under the leadership of Mr. Pelosi, the intramural program keeps evolving. Each year begins with a student survey, what sports are the students excited about? If wiffle ball’s not getting votes, it’s swapped out for something new. The result: intramurals that truly reflect the energy and enthusiasm of today’s Spartans.

At the end of the day, De La Salle intramurals, and especially quad hockey, are about more than wins or trophies (though bragging rights are definitely part of it). They’re about friendship, laughter, and stories that only get better with time. Whether you were a Ha Ha All Star, an El Polo Loco, a Concord Donkey, or just someone who loved the chaos of the quad, you were part of something special.

And as new legends rise, maybe one day people will debate whether recent graduate Joe Jupina’s (‘25) slapshot matched Dan Vinson. One thing’s for sure: at De La Salle, the real trophy has always been the joy, the laughter, and the lifelong memories made along the way.